Archinect - Features

Meet Tulane School of Architecture's New Faculty Hires

2023-10-16T08:00:00-04:00

Tulane School of Architecture (TuSA), one of Archinect’s School Partners, welcomes nine full-time incoming faculty members who will hold permanent positions at the school starting in the 2023/24 school year.

TuSA Dean Iñaki Alday shared that the aim for this new round of faculty hiring was to respond to the school's growth and impact on the school's programs housed within the school – Real Estate Development, Landscape Architecture, Historic Preservation, Social Innovation, Design and Architecture. Dean Alday explained, "...new people equals new perspectives, new reach, and a richer learning environment." He adds, "We're very committed to this work because we need our faculty to represent different perspectives, different cultures, different educations, and different experiences. Diversity of thought is essential for excellence and innovative thinking."

The Fluidity of an Architecture Education: A Conversation with Tulane School of Architecture's New Director Emilie Taylor Welty

2022-11-08T08:48:00-05:00

"School is this great place where you can turn research into action, and that testing ground fosters creative, collaborative professionals who can implement positive change in the world," Emilie Taylor Welty shared during our recent Zoom call.

An architect, educator, and multi-disciplinarian specializing in public-interest design, materials, and detailing, her approach to practice and academia is rooted in collaboration and fabrication. As Tulane School of Architecture's new Director of Architecture, her extensive background in social design practices and equity building positions Taylor Welty as another exciting key figure in Tulane's academic leadership.

Tulane School of Architecture Graduates Reference Haiti's 2010 Earthquake to Address The Importance of Essential Infrastructure Design For Disaster Relief

2021-08-18T09:00:00-04:00

On August 15th, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti. With news still unfolding, at the time of publication, over 1,400 people have been confirmed dead and over 6,000 injured. However, this isn't the first time a massive earthquake destroyed homes and impacted lives within the region. For this iteration of Archinect's Summer 2021 Thesis Review, we connected with B.Arch students Jorge Blandin & Joanne Engelhard. The duo from Tulane School of Architecture used their thesis project "A Developing Framework - Rethinking the Displacement Housing Crisis in Developing Countries" to explore how to approach essential infrastructure and affordable housing after a natural disaster like the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

Blandin and Engelhard's thesis project question the excessiveness within architecture and the disparity between accessible and functional architecture that also fosters community development and equity. The duo explains, "The 2010 earthquake in Haiti damaged and destroyed 295,000...

Academia and Social Responsibility: A Closer Look at Tulane School of Architecture's Graduate Programs

2020-10-22T11:47:00-04:00

Located in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the heart of the Gulf Coast, is Tulane University's School of Architecture. Rooted within the institution is an academic environment that houses its architecture, preservation, and real estate development graduate programs. In this feature, we take a closer look at the school's mission, its goals for its students and faculty, and how it aims to foster an environment of socially responsible learning.

According to Director of Graduate Architecture Benjamin J. Smith, Ph.D., the school's graduate programs share a "commitment to design excellence and social responsibility. With studio, seminar, and lecture courses that bridge intellectual, technical, social, and physical areas, our graduate students examine architecture by understanding its discipline and its consequence. To impact culture in positive ways, our students use architecture to ask challenging questions and deliver meaningful responses."

To learn more about the school's graduate programs...

Tulane Graduate Jacob Smiley Creates "Symbiotic Design Strategies" for Redwood Conservation

2020-07-09T13:23:00-04:00

After exploring Northern California's iconic redwood forests and their history with unsustainable logging, land, and real estate development practices, graduate student Jacob Smiley has proposed Restorative Forestry, a new way for people and the built environment to interact with forests. According to Smiley, "The thesis presents itself as a case study within the Muir Woods National Monument, a federal preserve located just 10 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge [...] this thesis primarily focuses on the study of redwood as a structural material as well as the incorporation of biomimetics to closely mirror the ecological niche of the redwood and support the ecology, all of which to be packaged under formal guise of a tower."

Archinect was able to connect with Smiley, a recent Tulane University School of Architecture graduate, to learn more about the semester's transition from in-person to digital presentations and to hear his perspective on the job market for graduates in 2020.

Ar...

Kate Katz and Ryan Shaaban, Tulane University MArch graduates, Consider the Urban Grid's Relationship to Sea Level Rise

2020-06-26T12:00:00-04:00

Kate Katz and Ryan Shaaban are recent graduate students from Tulane University's 5-year M.Arch program. Together the two explore the impact of rising sea levels and alternative approaches to coastal city infrastructure. According to both students, their thesis "strives to change the perception of how we as humans relate to nature by accommodating the dynamic qualities of water into the urban grid network."

Archinect connected with Katz and Shaaban to learn more about their final thesis project, their experience transitioning to remote learning, and their thoughts on graduating during a global pandemic. Their project was selected to be featured in Tulane's 2020 Thesis Show and chosen as one of the top four presentations in their graduating class.

Archinect's Spotlight on 2020 Thesis Projects: 2020 has been an extraordinarily challenging year for architecture graduates. Students were displaced as schools shut down, academic communities had to adapt to a new virtual format, end-of-yea...

Tulane Grad Yara Hantash Uses Subterranean Architecture to "Invert" Architecture's Role in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

2020-06-16T10:00:00-04:00

Yara Hantash is a recent graduate from Tulane University's undergraduate architecture program. Archinect was able to connect with Yara to learn more about her experience culminating design research through her thesis project during the coronavirus pandemic. Titled Involuntary Utopia, her exploration centers around the Isreali-Palestinian conflict and how architecture has become "an indisputable act of violence."

Yara takes us through her exploratory investigation of the possible solutions to the architectural problems created by what she has identified as an uninhabitable Jerusalem. Producing this project while learning remotely, Yara says she realized that the new focus on presenting her project virtually provided unique opportunities to craft a more "cinematic" narrative for her audiences.

"We urgently need to change the way in which we are inhabiting the planet," an interview with Tulane University's new dean, Iñaki Alday

2019-08-05T10:12:00-04:00

The Deans List is an interview series with the leaders of architecture schools, worldwide. The series profiles the school’s programming, as defined by the dean–giving an invaluable perspective into the institution’s unique curriculum, faculty and academic environment.

For this installment, Archinect spoke with Iñaki Alday, the new dean at the Tulane School of Architecture. The school hosts a variety of degree and specialized programs that combine architecture, real estate development, historic preservation, and community-driven focuses to provide a holistic design education. Dean Alday recently took the reins of the school with the aim of leading the Gulf Coast region and country, overall, in terms of "what it means to live with water."

Deans List: Kenneth Schwartz of Tulane School of Architecture

2015-10-02T08:38:00-04:00

The Deans List is an interview series with the leaders of architecture schools, worldwide. The series profiles the school’s programming, as defined by the head honcho – giving an invaluable perspective into the institution’s unique curriculum, faculty and academic environment. For this issue, we spoke with Kenneth Schwartz, the Dean at Tulane University's School of Architecture.